Sun and Moon
by Blizzard Wolf Claw
Summary: What if Rusty had a sister? What if she had became a RiverClan cat? See what is different and what stays the same as the siblings' destiny unfolds... I know summary sucks, my first fanfic. Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing that has something to do with Warriors. That is all Erin Hunter. :)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own warrior cats or anything related to it. If I did, Spottedleaf would have died WWWWAYYY later.

Prologue

After the fight at Sunningrocks, a she-cat with blue eyes and gray gur sat on a ledge, looking upon the night sky. She was then joined by a pretty tortoiseshell she-cat. "How is Mousefur" she meowed, knowing that the warrior was injured during the battle.

"Her wounds are deep Bluestar, but she will recover," the tortoiseshell replied. "She is young and strong."

"And the others?"

"They will all recover, too."

Bluestar gave a sigh. "We are lucky not to have lost any warriors this time. You are a gifted medicine cat, Spottedleaf." She then turned her attention to the stars, giving a studying look at the night sky. "I am deeply troubled by tonight's defeat. ThunderClan has not been beaten in its own territory since I became leader," she murmured. "These are difficult times for the Clan. Newleaf is late, and there are fewer kits than usual. ThunderClan needs more warriors for its survival."

"The year's just starting," Spottedleaf mentioned calmly. "There will be more kits when greenleaf comes."

The gray cat twitched her broad shoulders. "Possibly, but warrior training takes time. If ThunderClan is to defend its territory, we need warriors as soon as possible."

"Are you asking StarClan for answers?" meowed Spottedleaf gently, following Bluestar's gaze to the bright band of stars sparkling in the dark sky.

"It is at times like this we need the words of ancient to help us. Has StarClan spoken to you at all?" Bluestar asked.

"Not for quite some moons, Bluestar."

All of a sudden, a shooting star blazed in the sky. Spottedleaf's tail twitched as her fur started to bristle. Bluestar's ears pricked, but she was silent as Spottedleaf continued to haze upwards in a trance-like gaze.

After a few moments, Spottedleaf lowered her head as she turned to Bluestar. "It is a message from StarClan," she murmured. A distant look came into her eyes. "Fire alone can save our Clan."

"Fire?" Bluestar echoed. "But fire is feared b all the Clans! How can it save us?"

"That I do not know," Spottedleaf admitted while shaking her head.

The ThunderClan leader positioned her clear blue eyes on the medicine cat. "You have never been wrong before, Spottedleaf," she meowed. "If StarClan has spoken then it must be so. Fire will save our Clan."

XXXXX

The stars shown on the reflection of the river. At the bank of the river, a light-tabby with a broken jaw stood at the river's edge. He stared at the bright stars in the sky with a blank gaze. He was soon joined by a light brown tom with a pale underbelly.

"Greetings, Crookedstar," the brown tom meowed.

"Greetings, Mudfur," Crookedstar replied back, not taking his gaze off of the stars in the sky.

Mudfur noticed that the RiverClan leader looked... off about something.

"Crookedstar, are you alright? You seem to be out of it. Why not join the rest of the Clan and celebrate capturing Sunningrocks?"

Crookedstar however did not say anything for a few moments, then he gazed over at Mudfur with his sharp green gaze. "I can't help but be troubled by the future. Like something dreadful is going to come to the Clan." He said with a calculative gaze. "Mudfur, has StarClan given you any signs?"

"Not for a while. StarClan has been silent for quite some ti-" his fur started to bristle all over his body and his tail started to twitch erratically. The moon seemed to be brighter than ever before, and the river's tides seemed to become stronger and higher than they were a few moments ago.

Crookedstar was naturally surprised when Mudfur suddenly bristled at seemingly nothing. He quickly saw it was from StarClan and stayed silent as not to deter his concentration and the message. After what seemed like a few heartbeats Mudfur stopped bristling completely.

"StarClan has spoken to me," he said, completely calm and relaxed. He looked right into Crookedstar's eyes. "The moon will save the Clan."

"What? How can the moon save RiverClan? It is always in the sky," Crookedstar said slyly while giving Mudfur a rather perplexed look.

"I have no way of knowing. This is what StarClan has shown," Mudfur calmly said to the RiverClan leader.

He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about what the prophecy meant, and eventually turned his head back at the brown medicine cat.

"I have never doubted you before, Mudfur, so what StarClan says must be true. The moon will save our Clan."

A/N: Thanks for reading! This is my first Fanfic, so some helpful criticism will be much appreciated, but no flames! Remember to comment and favorite. Blizzard, out! :)


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors or have any rights to it. Now, On to the story, baby!

""= talking

''=_Thinking_

Chapter 1

It was the dead of night, and darkness was everywhere. Rusty could sense a presence close by. The young tomcat's eyes widened as he analyzed the dense undergrowth. He was not familiar with this place, however, strange scents drew him forward, deeper in shadows. His stomach growled, reminding him that he's hungry. He slightly opened his jaws to allow the interesting scents to reach the scent glands at the top of his mouth. Musty odors of leaf mold mingled with the tempting aroma of a small creature.

A flash of gray flew past him, obviously a mouse. He stood still, listening to his surroundings. It was less than two tail-lengths away from him. He swallowed, knowing that his hunger would be satisfied very soon.

He crept down into a crouching position, poised for attacking his vulnerable prey. He went downwind from the mouse. He knew he had not been discovered and did a final position check. With an air of confidence, he pushed on his haunches and leaped, kicking up the leaves from the forest floor.

His prey dived towards the ground, looking for cover, however Rusty was already upon it. He scooped it into the air, hooking the small furry creature with his sharp claws, flinging it on to the covered ground. It landed into a daze, but it was still alive, and tried to run. However, Rusty snatched it again and threw it farther than last time. The mouse scrambled a few paces before Rusty caught up with it.

A noise suddenly happened, causing Rusty to look around, and allowing his prey to escape. He tried to give chase, but stopped as it darted between the tangled roots of a tree. Furious, he stopped the hunt. He spun around, green eyes glaring, focused on finding the noise that disturbed him from trying to catch his prey. The sound however, kept on going, and gained a sense of familiarity. Rusty blinked his eyes open.

The forest was entirely gone. He was inside a hot and airless kitchen, curled in his bed. Light from the moon shone through the window, creating shadows on the smooth, hard floor. The noise from earlier were food pellets being poured into his dish, showing Rusty he was in a dream the whole time.

He raised his head, laying his chin on the side of his bed. His collar rubbed uncomfortably around his neck, as in his dream the wind ruffled through the soft fur where his collar now is. He rolled over on his back, remembering the moments he had in the dream. The forest smells, the prey, the wind blowing through his fur. He could still smell the taste of the mouse in his dreams. Ever since the last full moon, he has had that dream three times, including the one he just had.

He licked his lips, smelling the bland scent of his food from his bed. His owners always refilled his dish before they went to bed. The dusty smell chased away the vivid scents from his dream, but he was hungry, so Rusty stretched his limbs and padded across the kitchen to his dinner. The pellets felt dry and tasteless on his tongue, but he ate it anyway. He reluctantly swallowed another mouthful, then turned from the food dish to the cat flap, hoping that being in the garden can restore the scents and feeling from his dream.

Outside, the moon shined brightly, and there was a light drizzle outside. Rusty stalked down the neatly-kept garden, following the path of the moonlit gravel, which felt cool and sharp underneath his paws. He made his dirt beneath a large bush with glossy green leaves and heavy purple flowers. The sickly sweet scent invaded his nostrils, and he curled his lip to drive the smell away.

Afterwards, Rusty settled on top of one of the posts in the fence that marked the end of the garden. It was one of his favorite places, because he could see into the neighboring garden on the other side of the fence. The rain chose that time to stop.

Behind him, the close-cropped lawn was bathed in moonlight, but beyond the fences of his garden was the forest, full of shadows. Rusty stretched his head forward to sniff the damp air. His skin was warm and dry under his thick coat of fur, although he could feel the raindrops which were sparkling on his ginger fur.

His heard his housefolk give him one last call from the back. Rusty knew that if he went back, he would be greeted with gentle words and caresses and welcome him back onto his bed, where he would relax, go into a ball and purr, drifting into contempt sleep, expecting to be greeted by his owners the next morning, but this time, he ignored his owners' calls and turned back to the forest.

The forest started to become more scentful after the rain passed. His spine started to tingle. He always pondered whether or not there was something out there, in the farthest reaches outside of his garden, where he lived in peace. He decided he was going to find out. Contracting his muscles, Rusty got ready to leap into the forest which was so mysterious yet alluring to him. He jumped down on the other side of the fence, his collar bell ringing through the night air.

"Where are you going Rusty?" asked a familiar voice.

"Yeah, I want to know, too," agreed another voice who Rusty knew very well.

He looked up to see a black and white cat balancing quite clumsily on the fence he just leaped off of. Rusty then looked to the left to see a silvery white cat with blue paws and sapphire blue eyes. "Hey, Smudge, and Flower," Rusty meowed.

"Are you going into the forest?" Smudge asked with wide amber eyes.

"I'm just going for a look," Rusty promised.

"You don't know what's in there, Rusty," Flower said, worried for his brother's safety.

"I won't be in there long, I promise. Just a quick look and I'll be back."

"You know Harry said there are wildcats living in there," Smudge put in.

"Please, that fatso never went into the woods. He's barely been in his garden ever since the vet." Flower pointed out with a roll of her eyes.

"No really, he even caught a robin there!"

"Well it must have been before the vet. No he complains because the birds are too loud." Rusty said this time.

"Anyway," Smudge meowed. "He said there are lots of dangerous animals out there. Giant wildcats who eat rabbits for breakfast and sharpens their claws on old bones!"

"I'm only looking around. I'll be back."

"Okay, don't say I didn't tell you!" Smudge jumped back in the garden and went home to his housefolk.

"Be careful. I have to go back now," Flower informed Rusty before going to her housefolk as well.  
>XXXXX<p>

Rusty's senses were all over the place, looking at every single detail possible. His sharp green eyes grazing across the dark night forest, and his ears perked at any and all sound. After a while, he saw a tiny brown creature in his eye.  
>He crouched and was getting ready to pounce. He was able to get a better look at the mouse; his prey. It was like a dream come true to Rusty. He was about to pounce, but a loud sound of cracking twigs made him jump in surprise. Frightened, the mouse ran away. Angry at losing his chance to catch some prey, he whipped around ferociously at what cost him the mouse. Then, he thought the sound he heard were, <em>pawsteps<em>?

In an instant, something crashed into him with the force of a train. (AN: Would cats know what a train is? I mean, cars are called monsters and all, but trains? IDK). In his shock, he was quickly held down by his attacker. He twisted and turned trying to throw him off, to no avail. An idea popped into his head in the heat of it, but it would make his stomach vulnerable, meaning he was taking a big risk, but had no other ideas. With a giant heave, he rolled over on his back and threw his attacker off. He knew it worked as he heard the wind knocked out of him.

Rusty began running back to his twoleg nest. However, as he looked back the kitten was clearly giving chase, and starting to gain ground. Knowing he couldn't outrun the wildcat, Rusty quickly swerved and hissed at the cat, daring it to attack him again, flexing his claws and tensing his muscles, ready to fight for his life. The cat with yellow eyes came up to him from the shadows, and Rusty was so tense he thought his fur would explode. Strangely, the kitten revealed himself, sitting on his hind paws, showing no sign of aggression.

"Well, you put up quite a fight for a tame kitty!" the cat plainly meowed, as if the two had never been in a fight.

Rusty, though, was still tense, alert to any threatening movements from the gray tom. "I'll fight you again if I have to."

"Please, I'm the least the forest has to offer. In fact, ShadowClan warriors would have just ripped you to pieces, no questions, period. (AN: Do cats know what a period is?).

"Are you a ShadowClan warrior?"

"Oh, StarClan no! I'm an apprentice from ThunderClan. I'm training to become a warrior, you see."

In the middle of their conversation, Graypaw's nose started sniffing, at he went into a small panic.  
>"I smell cats from my clan. Hurry go!" Graypaw cried worriedly.<p>

Rusty quickly picked up the worry in Graypaw's voice, and took his warning seriously. Rusty was prepared to run, but he was stopped when two big cats appeared before he could take off back to his owners. He instantly knew he didn't have a chance against these giant cats. They would probably kill him if he stepped out of line, even a little over his boundary. Rusty looked at Graypaw, who was bowing down toward the cats, and quickly followed what he was doing out of fear of being killed or worse.

"The blue she-cat with the blue eyes is our leader, Bluestar, and the golden tom with the mane is my mentor, Lionheart. He's teaching me how to become a warrior," Graypaw explained, seeing how confused Rusty looked at the mere sight of all these cats.

"Up, both of you," Bluestar addressed the two young cats. They both followed her instructions instantaneously. "Well, Graypaw, how do we have here?"

"Uhhhh, n-n-nothing Bluestar, just a kittypet who overlooked his boundaries.

This got a rather angry glare from Rusty, who was rather offended of being called, "just a kittypet."

Bluestar then swerved her gaze towards Rusty, who faltered a little at her clear, blue gaze.

"You are a certainly interesting cat, Rusty. We have often watched you standing on the fence, at the very edge of our territory. I personally have wondered when you would muster the courage to step your paws in the forest. Although, it seems you are a very keen hunter."

Rusty perked up at that. "Really? You think so?"

"Yes, I do. In fact, if you did not hesitate and wait so long, you very well could have caught that mouse. Though I wonder, you live with your twolegs in a warm place with food available whenever you want. Why would you come out here to hunt when you didn't need to?" Bluestar asked rusty, slightly narrowing her eyes.

"I only came to hunt a few pieces of prey. I'm sure there is enough for everyone," Rusty explained rather nonchalantly.

Except, it seems that Rusty said the wrong words, and Bluestar's demeanor changed from calm and collected to completed anger and rage. Rusty and Graypaw actually took a step back in fear. "There's never enough to go around! You kittypets are always cared for, and are always fed. Out here, everything is a competition where every piece of prey counts!" She stalked up to Rusty until they were face-to-face staring right in each other's eyes. He looked calm on the outside, but on the inside he was scared straight. "You may hunt for sport, but we hunt to survive."

Rusty was thinking about everything the blue-furred leader told him. Was he really possibly condemning others to their death by taking their prey? Just the thought made him guilty of all the cats he could possibly have starved by taking their prey. Rusty looked straight in her eyes and apologized.

"I am sorry. I meant no harm to your Clan. I will not hunt here again." He gave Bluestar a clear gaze of his emerald green eyes as he swore to her.

Bluestar was genuinely surprised this "random kittypet" reacted so well to her anger, and gained a sense of curiosity, and decided to give him a little test.

"Our territory only covers part of the forest. We also compete with other clans, so prey is often scarce, especially in the season of leaf-bare. It is imperative that the Clan is well fed, as well as protected from dangers, like a rival Clan or foxes, for example."

"Is your Clan big?"

"Big enough. We can support the Clan, as well as be able to defend it." Bluestar was sure now that she should ask Rusty to join ThunderClan. He certainly had the curiosity, as well as the potential to become a great warrior.

"Are most of you warriors? And you all fight, and hunt, and sleep together?" Rusty blasted off the questions, his interest peaking at the max.

'_Now_, _this is the right time_.' "Rusty, how would you like to find out? Would like to become a ThunderClan apprentice?"

"What! But he can't Bluestar! He doesn't have warrior blood!" Graypaw swiftly shouted in shock at his leader offering this to a KITTYPET.

"Bluestar, are you sure about this?" Lionheart asked her, rather taken aback by the sudden offer as well.

Bluestar gave a nod to both of the toms before turning back to Rusty. "You will have to leave your twolegs. We can't promise easy food or warmth, and you will often have to work hard, especially in leaf-bare. However, there are upsides. You will have the respect of all your clanmates. Also, you will be around many cats who all depend as each other. You will also remain a tom." She gave a thorough explanation of what this could be like.

"Remember, Bluestar is only offering you training. It might prove too difficult for you."

Rusty was in deep thought. He did not want to leave his twolegs at all. They cared for him, nurtured him, and gave him everything he ever wanted. But the life of a Clan cat, it was so interesting. It was a life of freedom and adventure, just like his dream.

Lionheart decided to speak up. "We must return. Tigerclaw will wonder what has become of us."

"Yes, you are right. Well Rusty, what is your choice?" She asked Rusty.

He didn't know what to pick. "Can I have more time?" He asked, hoping that he can have more time to think about it.

To his relief Bluestar gave a nod. "Lionheart will be here at sunhigh. You can give your answer then." She then bounded back into the woods followed by Lionheart and Graypaw.

XXXXX

Rusty was padding back to his twolegs' house in deep thought. He could not know what he should do. Should he have a life of adventure, or a life of comfort? As he jumped over the fence back in his twolegs' garden, he looked up at the sky, wondering what his fate would be….

AN: And that's a wrap! Whew, that was long! I hope you enjoyed that chapter and I would like to give a shoutout to QuietDagger, who is a friend of mine, as well as iiDuskk, who was the very first person to fave my story! Anyway, the usual. Fav, like and please no flames! Blizzard, out!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors or anything associated with it because it's all Erin Hunter.

AN: I would like to thank everyone who is reading this, because it has helped my confidence dramatically! As of now, Sun and Moon has over 100 views, and I thank you all for the support! On with the story!

"=Talking

'=Thinking

Chapter 2

The sun shone brightly as it was high in the bright blue sky. Light filtered through the opened window of the kitchen. Rusty drowsily opened his eyes and shook himself as he rose from his bed. He recalled everything that happened last night in the forest. He went out of the cat flap to see Smudge in his garden, with a playful look on his face. 

"Well, you made fun of Henry but it seems you aren't doing any better than him," Smudge remarked.

Rusty rolled his eyes and shook off the tease of him being compared to Henry in laziness. "I was in the forest last night, remember?"

"Oh yeah, how was it? Was it scary, did you run into anything, just tell me everything!" Smudge yelled out with so much curiosity and excitement Rusty thought his fur would blow off at any heartbeat.

"Well, I ran into some wildcats. I fought one but then two others appeared," Rusty informed, remembering his adventure into the forest.

"And you fought all three of them!?" Smudge exclaimed his eyes wide with hunger to know, as well as a genuine concern.

"Nope, just the young one, but they were telling me that I shouldn't be on their territory, but then they asked me to join their Clan."

"Seriously? Are you sure you can trust them?"

"Maybe they need extra paws in their Clan, anyway my mind is made up, I'm going to join them." Rusty said with conviction in every word he said.

"What? Rusty please don't go. How would your housefolk react? What about Flower? Come on Rusty I need you here," Smudge was trying to convince Rusty to stay here, but to no avail.

"They'll get over it, and get another kitten. Don't worry Smudge, you won't be lonely. You and Flower will love the new kitten my housefolk will get." Rusty said.

"Okay, I guess there is no convincing you, but be careful, alright?"

"I will, Smudge. Goodbye," Rusty was very emotional about leaving Smudge, but he felt a voice calling him to the forest, as if he was meant to be there. After saying his farewell, he jumped over the fence into the forest, off to join the Clan.

After Rusty left the garden and his twolegs, he went to the edge of the forest where he was supposed to meet Lionheart. He looked up at the sky and saw it was sunhigh.

'Where is Lionheart? He should be here by now,' Rusty thought, wondering where the golden warrior could be. A few moments later, an idea popped into Rusty's head. He pulled his head up, and took a deep whiff of the air around him. He could smell the forest, all of the scents were pulled along the wind, as well as the scent of a… cat? The scent was familiar, and that was when Rusty knew who it was.

"Lionheart!" Rusty yelled towards the nearby bush of the forest, and he was right, as the giant golden cat padded away from the cover of the bush into the small clearing.

"Very good, young one. Now tell me this, am I alone?" Lionheart asked the flame-furred soon to-be apprentice.

Rusty took a giant whiff of the surrounding area, and felt a new scent come over him apart from Lionheart and the other scents. "No, there is someone else with you," he answered after surveying the area. True to his words, another cat came out of hiding. He was a big tom, with glossy white fur and yellow eyes. He looked at Lionheart with approval in his eyes.

"Sharp nose, little one. My name is Whitestorm. Well, are you ready to go to ThunderClan?" he asked Rusty.

Rusty nodded and Lionheart and Whitestorm immediately turned and bounded into the forest. Startled, Rusty hurriedly ran after them to catch up. He was in awe at how fast they are, as the only reasons he was not lost yet was because he was following their footprints, scent, and the sight of them in front of his eyes almost a blur. They ran across the undergrowth of the forest before they stopped in front of a bunch of bushes. When Rusty caught up, he thought his paws were going to fall off.

"Now Rusty, what do you smell?" Lionheart questioned him.

Rusty smelled the area and was overloaded with cat scents. "I smell cats," he told Lionheart. Lionheart and Whitestorm shared an amused glance, then looked back at Rusty.

"You are correct. However, after a while in the Clan you will learn each cat scent by name," he told Rusty, who nodded. Whitestorm led them through a tunnel of bushes which was the entrance to the camp. After they made it to the tunnel, Lionheart looked at Rusty who was amazed at the camp. "Welcome to ThunderClan."

When Rusty saw the camp, he was in amazement at the beauty and peace of it. It was truly a sight.

"Come on, I will give you a quick tour of the camp," Lionheart told Rusty. He then lead Rusty to a den where there were kits suckling to their mother. "This is the nursery, where mothers care for kits, who will grow up to be the next generation of warriors in the Clan." He padded from the nursery to a patch of flowers, with Rusty right behind him. "This is the nettle patch, where cats share tongues. Sharing tongues is when cats in the clan get together and talk about things like recent news and whatnot, and ultimately it increases the bond between the cats and the Clan overall."

Lionheart was ready to show him the other parts of the camp, but Whitestorm chose that time to come. "Bluestar is ready for him," he told Lionheart, before padding away. With that said, the two went to giant rock in the middle of the camp, where they saw Bluestar waiting patiently.

"Bluestar!" Rusty exclaimed, bounding over to where Bluestar was. Bluestar gave him a warm look as he came over to her.

"Greetings, Rusty. I see you have made your decision and I am happy to see another promising cat joining ThunderClan," Bluestar told Rusty, before looking at Lionheart. "Well, how was he?" she asked Lionheart, knowing he was skeptical about letting a kittypet into the Clan.

"He is very special. He surpassed my expectations of him, Bluestar," he admitted.

Rusty was prideful at the praise of Lionheart. Bluestar gazed at him then beckoned him with her tail. The three climbed up the Highrock and Bluestar spoke.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather around the Highrock," her meow rang across the clearing. Cats from all over the camp gathered around the Highrock and many noticed Rusty. They soon began to murmur about who he could be, but Bluestar silenced them all with a raise of her tail.

"As you all know, this leaf-bare has been hard on us. We have lost many warriors, and there have never been few apprentices and kits in ThunderClan. New-leaf may be coming, but the point of the matter is, ThunderClan needs more warriors if it is to survive." She then looked at Rusty and signaled for him to come up to the top of the rock.

"We have taken in an outsider, who will join ThunderClan, and will grow to be a valuable asset of ThunderClan." At this point, many cats were murmuring all over the place about Rusty, asking about who he is or where he is from. However, one voice yelled above all of the others.

"Look at his collar, he's a kittypet!" the voice came from a pale silver tabby with dark black stripes on his fur. "He'll never be a part of the Clan. The jingling of the bell will give our position away to enemies, and his kittypet stench will frighten off prey, besides, kittypets don't have warrior blood!" the tabby tried to reason off, with a few agreeing with him.

Lionheart saw this and bent down into Rusty's ear to tell him something. "The tabby is Longtail, and he is challenging your rights to join ThunderClan. Will you back down from a challenge?" he asked him. Rusty decided he would not be insulted like that, and gazed at Longtail's position, preparing to pounce. Bluestar noticed this, but kept silent, as this is what might need to happen and let it be.

Longtail still tried to continue the insults on Rusty, oblivious to the fact Rusty is about to pounce on him. "Once a kittypet, always a kittyp-uuf!" he wheezed as Rusty slammed into him with everything he had. All of the cats jumped back in order to witness the fight without being in the crossfire. Rusty tried to pin Longtail down, but was overpowered and thrown off. The two battling toms got into a position on the opposite sides of the ring of cats.

"Do you think you can beat me, a warrior? A cat who has spent moons in training, and you think you have a chance? How pitiful," Longtail sneered at Rusty.

"Whoa, that tail is huge!" Rusty said as he saw the length of Longtail's tail. (AN: kind of obvious though. I mean, his name IS Longtail).

"We warriors have special qualities that are passed down from our ancestors, and we use those abilities to help our Clan. You're just a kittypet, you have no warrior blood, and you are in no way special!" Longtail belittled Rusty before leaping with his claws outstretched.

Rusty tried to dodge, but was wacked back in by Longtail's tail. He got an idea and pretended to be down. As Longtail went for the bite, he pushed Longtail off with everything he had, and quickly giving chase to the airborne warrior. Rusty rammed into him, and managed to nick his ear with his claws, which stung Longtail for a moment, allowing him to pin Longtail down.

His victory was short lived, however, as Longtail turned Rusty to the bottom, and started choking rusty by pulling his collar. Rusty could do nothing but struggle for air as he felt it all being squeezed out of him. Then, he felt free and Longtail flew backwards, the collar in between them.

Rusty's collar broke, and he was free from his housefolk forever.

"Enough!" Bluestar's voice rang all over the clearing, and everyone immediately stopped whatever they were doing. She padded over to Rusty's collar and spoke.

"This is a sign from StarClan. His collar has been broken, freeing him from twolegs. It means he was meant to join this Clan. From now on, until he is a warrior, he will be called Firepaw, for his flame colored pelt."

Graypaw was the first to chant for Firepaw. "Firepaw, Firepaw!" he chanted. Some of the other reluctant cats started to join in too, until it was a full-blown chant by the whole clan. "Firepaw, Firepaw!" they all cheered for Firepaw, who was prideful at finally being a part of a Clan.

Suddenly, a black and white cat with injuries broke through the opening. Attention immediately shifted and Bluestar as well as many other cats rushed to the cat's aid. "Ravenpaw, what is wrong?" Bluestar asked him.

Ravenpaw looked up in terror. "R-R-Redtail's d-d-dead."

XXXXX

A few hours after Rusty left, Flower came to visit, but she did not know that Rusty left for ThunderClan. She saw Smudge and went over to him.  
>"Hey, Smudge. How are you?" she asked him.<p>

"Not too good." He implied somberly, with an underlying tone of grief and loneliness.

"What's wrong?" she questioned.

"Rusty's gone," he replied.

Flower was horrified to hear that. "Is he dead?"

"No, but he went to live with the wildcats in the forest." He told her.

She was clueless at the time, though. "Wildcats? What are you talking about?"

Smudge proceeded to tell Flower everything that has happened so far, including Rusty's adventure, the talk with him, and wishing him well as he left in the forest to join the wildcats. At the end, Flower was speechless, because she was so shocked that that happened all so soon. Flower looked at the forest, and she could tell why Rusty was so interested. Seeing a new world of mysteries, untold adventures, all of it right over the fence, so she decided to check it out herself. She whipped her gaze back to Smudge.

"I'll go look for him. Maybe he hasn't got there yet," she told Smudge.

"O-okay, but be careful, please," he replied.

"Okay, but please be careful."

Gotcha," and with that, Flower jumped over the fence and started her trek through the forest.

When Flower entered the forest, she was instantly drawn by the foreign smells of the forest. She dwelled deeper into the forest when she saw a clearing. However, this clearing was different, as there were obvious signs of a battle as well as a rock fall, judging by how it looked, so she decided to investigate. Her scent was invaded by blood the second she stepped into the clearing. It was so intoxicating; she had to leave as soon as possible.

When Flower got away from the clearing, she ended up on a place that was all stone. She also saw a river at the coast of the stony place, and it all looked so amazing. Unfortunately, her awe was cut short as she heard a sharp meow.

"Who are you and why are you on RiverClan territory?" a yellow cat with black spots rounded on her, and she was followed by two other cats.

"Don't be too hasty, Leopardfur," a large tabby with a broken jaw commanded her to stay back. She looked defiant, but stepped back and allowed him to take control. He then padded up to Flower. "I am Crookedstar, leader of RiverClan. Tell me little one, why are you on our territory?" he asked much more politely than Leopardfur.

"I'm sorry for trespassing, but I am looking for my brother. He has a flamey pelt with green eyes. Have you seen him?" she asked the giant cat.

"Sorry, I have seen no cat like that. But seeing as you have not done anything wrong to our Clan, I guess you can go." The tabby told her. But little did he know, he awakened a fire in Flower.

"Clan? What is a Clan? What is it like? Is it big? What's it like to be in a Clan?" she blasted off questions one after another.

"Calm down, young one," the tabby said, but inside he was thinking this cat could be a great addition in RiverClan, so he decided to pop the question. (A/N: Not THAT question! )

"Do you want to find out? How about joining RiverClan for yourself?" he asked her.

Crookedstar are you sure?" questioned the third cat, a gray and blue cat with blue eyes.

"Yes, Stonefur, I am sure."

A million things were going through Flower's mind. She could not believe she was going to be a member of a Clan. She thought of everything she could and then took a deep breath.

"Yes, I would like to join your Clan," she told Crookedstar.

Suddenly, Crookedstar's claws came out and started going towards Flower. She closed her eyes and prepared for the impact, but it never came. She opened her eyes nervously and saw Crookedstar standing calmly in front of her, and her collar was on the stone floor of the rocks. "You won't need that to be in RiverClan." He told her, to which she nodded. "Come on, I will lead you to the camp." He then flickered his tail before going the other way, most likely to the camp. The others followed, and Flower was excited at the prospect of joining RiverClan.

XXXXX

Crookedstar and Flower went into the middle of the RiverClan camp. There were tributaries all around the camp, filled with water, which was everywhere. Flower surprised Crookedstar when she didn't mind getting wet, and she told him that she loved to swim, convincing him even more that she was the right choice. The dens were all above the water line, with Crookedstar's den able to see all of the other dens. Crookedstar then spoke.

"All cats able to catch their own fish gather at the clearing." In an instant, cats started filing around the clearing. Many caught sight of Flower, and they started murmuring around. However, with a flick of Crookedstar's tail, they all went silent.

As we know, Oakheart has left us to go to StarClan. He was a great cat, a great deputy, and a great warrior. He will be greatly missed." In Crookedstar's voice was grief, and sorrow, but he continued. "It is time to appoint a new deputy. May Oakheart hear my choice and approve. The new deputy will be Leopardfur."

The crowd broke into a chant for Leopardfur. After they calmed down, Crookedstar moved to speak again and everyone was silent. "I have found a cat on our borders, and she has proven to have a great curiosity for our Clan. I have invited her to join the Clan and she accepted. Now, she will join us not as an outsider, but as an apprentice of RiverClan." He turned to Flower. "From now, until you become a warrior, your name will be known as Moonpaw."

The Clan was a bit hesitant, but after a while cats started to call her name. After a while, everyone was calling out Moonpaw's name. "Moonpaw, Moonpaw!" everyone cheered. Moonpaw was amazed at being an apprentice and was excited at the chance she was getting. She had a new home now, and she loved it instantly. She know knew, she was meant to be here as a part of RiverClan…


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors or anything associated with it. Now on to the note!

A/N: Thanks for everyone who has read my story! The views have been skyrocketing so I have to say thank everyone who reads my story! Speaking of story, let's get on with it.

Flower- no, _Moonpaw _has never felt this amazing in her life. She just became an apprentice, and she already feels welcomed inside the Clan. She thought it was over when the audience quieted down, but apparently, there was more when Crookedstar started to speak again.

"I will be Moonpaw's mentor."

The whole crowd went dead silent. If it wasn't for the rushing water, one could hear a squirrel all the way in ShadowClan. Many never remembered the last time Crookedstar had an apprentice, so it was a big shock to them. "Come over and lick my shoulder, Moonpaw." She came over and licked his shoulder, and he responded by putting his muzzle on her head. By now, the Clan got their bearings back and cheered.

"The meeting is now over," Crookedstar said with his powerful voice. The crowd dispersed and everyone went their separate ways. He turned to Moonpaw, who was glowing with acceptance. "Well, how is RiverClan?" he asked

"Well, it's really nice, and the cats seem friendly. I think I will like it here."

Great, well your warrior training will start tomorrow, and the first thing we will do is to show you're the RiverClan territory. Now, go get some familiarity around the camp." With that, Crookedstar stalked away, leaving Moonpaw to her own devices. The problem was though, Moonpaw had no idea where to go, but thankfully, a warrior came to her rescue.

"Hey, are you the new apprentice?" the blue-gray cat asked her.

"Yeah, but I'm a little lost. Can you help me around…" she stopped realizing she didn't know the cat's name.

The other cat's eyes danced with amusement. "Sure, I'll give you a little tour of the camp. By the way, my name is Mistyfoot," she informed her. Moonpaw nodded gratefully and Mistyfoot started the tour. The first place they came to is a den. "This is the warrior den. This is where the warriors sleep, and you may be here someday. Don't go in there, yet. The warriors are really crabby about their sleep, you know." Afterwards, she went to a den that was furthest away from the water in the camp.

"This is the elders' den, where the retired warriors live after their service to the Clan is over. Come on in, I'm sure they would like to meet you," Mistyfoot told her. Moonpaw decided that there is nothing wrong with it and went into the den with her. "Hey you guys, this is the new apprentice. I'm showing her around," Mistyfoot explained to the elders.

"Hello young apprentice. My name is Graypool, and it is very nice to meet you. Tell me, where did Crookedstar find you?" Graypool asked her with interest, as Crookedstar is not one to let just anyone into the Clan.

"Well, I was at a stony place looking for my brother, who went to be with a bunch of other Clan cats, and try and convince him to come back. I saw a bunch of fallen rocks and blood, and it was so strong that I had to run away from it and ended up in what I now see is RiverClan territory. That's where I met Crookedstar along with I think it was Stonefluff and Leopard-uhhh-something?" she left of seeing as she was new to these peculiar names, and overwhelming it was. Mistyfoot and Graypool burst into laughter and started rolling on the floor hysterically (well in Mistyfoot's case. I don't think elders could do that. )

After the great laughing part ended, they left after saying goodbye to Graypool and the other elders who came from the clearing wondering what all the ruckus was about, and it would be a sad day for a certain warrior (cough*Stonefluff*cough). Mistyfoot was about to take Moonpaw to the training hollow, where they ran into Leopardfur on the way.

"Hey Leopardfur, have you seen the new apprentice yet? She really fits in very-," Mistyfoot started to introduce her before being interrupted by Leopardfur.  
>"She will never fit into the Clan. I don't know what is going through Crookedstar's head, but he obviously is hallucinating from some bad prey if he thinks this kittypet will make it here," she hissed with venom, not happy about some outsider joining RiverClan. Before the two could say anything, she stalked away from them, with her tail high in the air.<p>

"Sorry about her, Leopardfur can be quite… exclusive sometimes. She will warm up eventually." Mistyfoot told Moonpaw.

"I sure hope so…"

XXXXX

After Mistyfoot showed her the rest of the camp, she headed to the apprentice den (after she got directions), and got ready to go to sleep. When she came into the den, her entrance had varied reactions. Some went away from her, not wanting to be around the outsider, and some actually couldn't care less and just kept minding their own catwax (you know, beeswax, catwax, get it? Aww heck I suck as a comedian). Although, two cats came up to Moonpaw and introduced themselves.

"Hey, you're the new one, right? I'm Lilypaw, and his name is Heavypaw," a light green cat with dark green stripes and green eyes introduced herself and her friend, who was a sky blue tabby with yellowish eyes and a little white around his tail. (Happy St. Patrick's Day!)

"Hi, I'm Moonpaw, are you guys new apprentices?"

"Yes and no. See, we've been apprentices for about a half-moon, so we're still pretty new," Heavypaw spoke this time. "I hope you can train with us. I can show you how it's done."

"Be careful Heavypaw, you don't want to be shown up by a newbie," Moonpaw taunted him.  
>"As if!" he retaliated.<p>

That's when the other apprentice spoke up. "Hey shut up will you? Some people want to sleep."

"Don't worry about him. He's just cranky because he has the dawn patrol tomorrow. He has a point though, we should get to sleep," Heavypaw reassured the two.

They all sat around the back of the den and cuddled with each other. Moonpaw loved RiverClan so far, and hoped everything would be as good as this. 'Firepaw would like RiverCl-,' then she realized something. 'Firepaw, I hope you're okay, wherever you are,' she thought before she was drowned into the deep lull of sleep.

XXXXX

The whole Clan seemed to be shocked that this Redtail is dead. All of the cats came to the black and white cat, as he was clearly shattered by something horrible. "W-W-We went to Sunningrocks, w-where w-we s-s-saw RiverClan cats, and Oakheart was there, too," he told everybody.

"Err, all these names, who are these cats? And what is a RiverClan?" Rusty was so confused his brain was in tangle.

"Redtail is our deputy, and Oakheart is the deputy of RiverClan, they are a bunch of slimy fishes who do nothing but sit around and eat fish all day. You know RiverClan is lucky, if I was there they would be real fishe-" Graypaw was saying as he continuously got louder until the whole Clan was looking at him with blank, amazed, embarrassed, or just straight up crazy stares. Graypaw looked around stupidly before noticing that he was talking a bit too loud. He shrunk back so much Firepaw that he would sink into the ground.

By the time that whole fiasco was over, Ravenpaw was done telling the horrors he saw at the battle, and he was about to be taken somewhere by a pretty tortoiseshell who Firepaw blushed at, and made him thankful for his flame looking pelt as she couldn't see it. Heartbeats, later a huge cat bounded through the tunnel entrance, carrying a cat in his jaws, obviously dead. The cat who carried him was a large bracken-colored tabby with dark amber eyes who felt so… unfriendly to Firepaw.

Bluestar moved to the cat as he gently laid the dead corpse on the barren ground. "Tigerclaw, what happened?" she addressed the big warrior, clearly leaving no room for nothing but the straight truth. No bends, no twists, absolutely nothing but the truth.

"We ran into RiverClan warriors by the border, and Redtail warned them to stay off of ThunderClan territory, but they refused, which lead to a battle. During the battle, Oakheart killed Redtail, and I avenged Redtail by taking the life of the RiverClan deputy." He looked very distant, probably from the recent death of the Clan's deputy.

"I see….." Bluestar murmured, filled with sadness of her deputy's death. "We shall sit for Redtail's spirit as he goes to StarClan, then I will appoint a new deputy before moonhigh." She informed the Clan. Many cats surrounded Redtail's dead body and started murmuring prayers, farewell, and everything of the sort.

Firepaw looked towards Graypaw, his emerald green eyes full of curiosity. "What is StarClan?" he asked him.

"Well, StarClan, is our warrior ancestors in the sky, we can see them in Silverpelt at night. Every cat who dies becomes a star if they believe in StarClan. Overall, the ones with the closest connection with StarClan are the medicine cats and the leader," Graypaw explained, much to Firepaw's understanding.

"Should we go over there, too?" Firepaw questioned, mentioning Redtail and his grieving.

"No, only those who knew him best should be over there, but I can show you the rest of the camp if you want."

"Sure, it would get our minds of off it."

That being said, Graypaw lead him to a den with the pretty tortoiseshell in it, and she was talking to the one called Tigerclaw.

"Will he make it, Spottedleaf? It would be a shame if he died so early in his career as a warrior," he asked the tortoiseshell. It sounded more like annoyance than concern, though. He unsheathed one of his claws and prodded Ravenpaw, saying things like "get up," or "come on." Firepaw was amazed at the length of that claw, and even said it to Graypaw.

"Look at the size of that claw!" he exclaimed in surprise that a cat could have claws tat huge.

"I know I wouldn't want to see him on the battlefield."

"Of course he will make it, he just needs some rest, and no training today, he's really shaken up," Spottedleaf told him, whacking his paw away from Ravenpaw. Tigerclaw gave her a defiant look at first, but eventually just dipped his head and left the den, where Firepaw and Graypaw were sitting. He looked at Firepaw very curiously, then spoke. "So, you are the new apprentice Bluestar let into the Clan. I will watch your actions with great interest."

After he stalked away, Firepaw looked at Graypaw. "Do you think he likes me?" he asked him.

"I don't think Tigerclaw likes any apprentices."

Suddenly, Spottedleaf came out the medicine den, well not out, but slightly poked her head out. "Hey, how can I take care of somebody with all these loud mouths here? Go away!" she yelled.

They quickly rushed away from her, not wanting the fury of the she-cat (A/N: This story may have very violent she-cats, and who doesn't love the violent women?) Graypaw rush-led Firepaw to a den around the very back of the camp. This is the elder's den, where the elders of the Clan sleep. Come on, I know they would love to meet you." Firepaw nodded his agreement, and followed Graypaw into the den.

"Oh, you are the new apprentice. It is nice to meet you, young one. My name is Smallear, and the others are One-eye, Rosepetal, and Halftail. Here, have some prey, Sandpaw and Dustpaw have become fine hunters," he told them while giving them a piece of mouse.

Graypaw looked at Firepaw, "You haven't had mouse yet, have you?" Firepaw shook his head. "Then you have the first bite, just save me some!"

Firepaw bent down and ate a bit of the mouse, and h e was instantly assaulted with all kind of flavor. It was sickingly….amazing!

"Amazing!" he exclaimed.

"Well, let me have some, then!" Graypaw said, and Firepaw took a step back and he took a gulp of it himself.  
>"You know, it has been a long time Redtail was Bluestar's deputy," Smallear told elders.<p>

"I remember when Bluestar herself was appointed deputy," One-eye spoke up.

"I wonder who she will appoint as the next deputy…" Rosepetal said.

Then, Bluestar's voice rang, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock!"

'Looks like we're about to find out' Firepaw thought.

"Redtail has been a great deputy, and may his spirit will accept the cat I have chosen. Lionheart will be the next deputy."

The crowd exploded into cheers, as it seems he was a very popular choice. Even Firepaw and Graypaw joined into the chant. After everything was over, they went to congratulate him, but he was in Bluestar's den, so they just went to the apprentice den. (Well, Firepaw followed Graypaw to the den)

"Hey, look who decided to show up," a rude she-cat sneered at them in the apprentice den.

"Yeah, did you enjoy the prey we caught for you?" another brownish tom backed her up.

"Don't worry about those two, maybe it's hairball season," Graypaw joked, making the two scoff.

"Well I don't care, just get me the farthest den away from the kittypet!" she said before curling in to the nest to sleep, along with Dustpaw who laid down close to her.

Greypaw and Firepaw found their own places to lay, and sat down getting ready to sleep.

Firepaw wondered about how the day was, and he looked towards Graypaw, to see him soundly asleep. He sighed, seeing that sight, and wondered how the day was ad how ThunderClan would take him. He decided he would prove he was loyal. He would strive to be the best ThunderClan cat the forest has ever seen…

A/N: That's a wrap! Remember fave and follow, and a special shout out to QuietDagger, who gave many ideas… that I was already doing for the story… But her input is still appreciated! Oh, and one more thing, I have a poll about the next story I should do. Look at the poll and select it! SSSSEEEELLEECCCTT YOUR POLL CHOICE! And you may get an imaginary cookie! Blizzard, out!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors or anything associated with it.

A/N: I am SO SORRY for being so late! So to make it up to you… I made a GIANT CHAPTER! A giant one, so please enjoy and PLEASE do the poll on my page! On to the story!

In the ThunderClan camp, the sun was gleaming over the busy camp as the cats were doing their regular jobs for the day. However, a certain flame colored apprentice hasn't woken up yet, but that would soon change.

"Hey Firepaw, get up!" a gray cat hissed in his ear.

Firepaw sat up groggily and proceeded to groom himself quickly before looking at Graypaw. "What's wrong?" He asked as if there was no care in the world.

"We're late, that's what's wrong!"

After hearing that, Firepaw immediately got up and ran with Graypaw to the training hollow, overjoyed for his first day of training! He wondered what it would be like, learning to fight and catch prey… It would be awesome!

When they got there, they saw a patiently waiting Lionheart, and an annoyed Tigerclaw. They rushed over to the warriors, and bowed down to them before apologizing. "We're so sorry we're late. See, we just overslept and-" Graypaw was trying to explain before being cut off by Tigerclaw.

"You have no excuses; you should have been on time. A true warrior actually has a sense of punctuality, unlike you two pipsqueaks," he chastised.

"Don't be so rough, Tigerclaw, it his Firepaw's first day. Not to mention the commotion that happened yesterday. Believe it or not, I thought they would be later than this," he told Tigerclaw. "However, Tigerclaw is right. You should be aware of when training begins and correct your sleeping habits. Is that understood?" he lectured them in a more calm and understanding tone. The two apprentices both nodded.

Then something hit his mind. Where was Ravenpaw? He concluded he was too injured to join them today, so he just shrugged it off and went back to listening to Lionheart. "Ravenpaw could not join us today, so he will not be attending with us as we show you around the territory." After he said that, the two giant warriors led them through the hollow into the forest. After running in the deep underbrush, the company stopped at a place with many cut-down trees and dead leaves.

Lionheart looked at Rusty. "This is a twoleg path. Can you scent anything, Firepaw?"

He sniffed the air around him, and got many overlapping scent. There were the trees, the undergrowth, the leaves, and a… dog? However, it was quite stale, as well as the scent from the twoleg. "A dog and a twoleg were here, but now they are gone."

Lionheart nodded his head in approval, and they continued in front of the same fence where Rusty first set foot in the forest. "This is the Twolegplace, which I am sure you are already familiar with," Tigerclaw growled, before moving on in the dense undergrowth of the forest.

"Next, we are going to the RiverClan border, but first we wi-," Lionheart was cut off as a tabby tom crashed through the woods and nearly rammed into Graypaw. He was breathing heavily while Lionheart gave an exasperated sigh. "Greetings, Runningwind."

The tabby now known as Runningwind looked very embarrassed in front of the group of cats. "Nothing really, I was just hunting," he responded.

"Like that?" Tigerclaw sneered.

"Well, I kind of spaced off and I really didn't look where I was going. W-Well, see you guys later!" before he sped off, very relieved to get away from Tigerclaw's intimidating presence.

"Anyway," Lionheart broke the silence between then dumbfounded group, "Next is Sunningrocks. Come."

The four arrived to a place that received lots of blazing sunlight, which warmed the silver stones beneath their paws. In Firepaw's head, it felt pretty good feeling the heat coming off of the stones, like he could lie down and take a nice, long nap here. However, it all ended, when the two warriors started to move towards the west, making the apprentices pout a little bit about not enjoying the natural warmth of the stony landform.

Firepaw quickly noticed the change from the warm, dry stones of Sunningrocks to the moist riverside of where they came to. Nothing looked special here, but he knew it must be important if they decided to stop here so he just listened. "This is the RiverClan border, and on the side of the river is where one of their hunting areas are. Breathe in their scent, and remember it, got it?" Tigerclaw said in a menacing way that made Firepaw's fur stand on end. He sniffed the border anyway, and he almost instantly shrank back from the ridiculously overwhelming scent of fish.

He tried to control his tongue, but it slipped out anyway. "Yuck! Does RiverClan do nothing but bathe in fish !? They smell disgusting!" he shouted, not caring whom or what heard him. Although, soon he would wish he took that back.

"Really, now what would you say if you were in front of the more violent RiverClan warriors? Believe me, they would not take that insult laying down, so you better thank StarClan I'm a rather peaceful cat," a new voice came out. The four quickly turned their heads to the sound of the voice. Out of the bushes came a giant cat and a smaller cat, who Firepaw instantly recognized. It seemed she recognized him, too, because they both said the same thing at the same time.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

XXXXX

_The same morning: RiverClan Camp_

The sun was shining as it climbed into the clear blue skies. It hit the eyes of an apprentice, who seeing as she lost the battle for extra sleep, got up and started to groom herself. Her new friends started to get up a short while after she finished grooming herself. "Morning Moonpaw, and Heavypaw," the green she-cat groggily said as she rose from her tangled bed of moss.

"Hey you two, you finally woke up. Let's get out of here, it's quite stuffy and I could use some sun," Moonpaw told them with a friendly tone. Fortunately, they weren't too horrible about it, although Heavypaw was grumbling about "bossy she-cats" and whatnot. After they got out of the apprentice's den, they all took a great stretch to loosen their bodies as well as to get the morning sunlight in their bones.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing today, huh?" Heavypaw asked them.

Lilypaw shook her head in wonder. "I have no idea what Rosewind and I are doing today, considering me and you just became apprentices a claw-moon before Moonpaw," she informed them.

"Well, Blackclaw says we're doing battle training today. It's gonna be awesome!" he told them, with excitement clear in his eyes. He then looked towards Moonpaw. "Since it's your first day, Crookedstar will probably show you the borders of our Clan. That's where we first started, right Lilypaw?"  
>"Yep, so be ready to look at the territory," she told her.<p>

"Thanks guys, that really helped," she returned.

"Sure, anytime,"

Afterwards they just chatted about different things until Moonpaw saw Crookedstar coming toward them. They quickly stopped talking and looked at their gigantic leader. When he came over to them, Lilypaw and Heavypaw were shaking in nervousness, although Moonpaw seemed to be just fine. Of course, he noticed this and decided to tease them for it. "Hmm, well look here, she has only been an apprentice for one night and not even a full day, but she is more brave than both of you? That is a bad example of RiverClan, maybe you should be kits for another moon," he told them with fake disappointment in his eyes, which scared the two to the core.

They immediately stood up straight and still as could be, and puffed their fur out as much as possible. "We aren't scared of anybody, including you Crookedstar!" Heavypaw shouted, much to some of the elder's ire.

"Hey, we're trying to sleep here!" Graypool shouted back from halfway across the camp. Everybody except Heavypaw had a sweatdrop on their face (ANIME BABY!). Crookedstar quickly shook his head away from the craziness that his Clan can be sometimes.

"Moonpaw, the reason I came over here is to take you for your first day of training. Today, I will show you the borders, okay?" he informed her of their schedule. Moonpaw nodded vigorously, excited for her real first day as a RiverClan apprentice! "Come on, first I will show you the river where we hunt and the territories before we get any further." Crookedstar then made his way from the clearing outside of the apprentice's den to the tall reeds, which hid the camp, with Moonpaw close on his tail. The first place he led her to was a giant river, which seemed to be endlessly deep, as well as long. "This is the gorge, which separates most of our border from WindClan, except for a very thin strip right next to RiverClan and ThunderClan territories, so it is patrolled regularly, because it would be very easy for them to sneak over that small margin with no trouble. Did you get all that?" he looked back at Moonpaw, who looked so confused it was funny.

"Umm, yeah, I get the borders and everything, but what is WindClan and ThunderClan, and are they like WindClan at all?" she asked curiously. He gave a hefty sigh at her antics, but moved to answer anyway.

"See, here in the forest there are four Clans. We are RiverClan, as you should know. ThunderClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan are the three other Clans, StarClan is the Clan that is made up of our warrior ancestors, and it is where all Clan cats go after death. There is even an old tale; every dead Clan cat becomes a star in Silverpelt, which we can see at night." At the end of his small lecture, Moonpaw was mesmerized about all of the Clans, and her eyes showed she was hungry for more knowledge. "That is all I will say for now, I will tell you more about the Clans later, okay?" he told her gently.

She was a bit upset, but nodded anyway. After all, later was better than never. Crookedstar motioned for her to follow him, and she complied without question. On their way to the next destination, he decided to give her a little insight about where they were going. "Next, is the river, which is our main hunting ground. Overall, we eat fish, but in the season of leaf-bare when the river is at risk of freezing, we usually hunt at Sunningrocks when it is available. That is when we will eat birds, mice, and other land animals. Right now, I will take you there, then to Sunningrocks and finally, ThunderClan's border."

A little while after the talk about what was next, the two arrived at the blue river. It was not too deep, but not too shallow either, being the perfect place to practice swimming, and prey catching too. It was deep in some areas though, so Moonpaw decided to avoid those places for now. "This is the river I was telling you about. Although, since I explained it already, we will go on to Sunningrocks, which is currently ours," Crookedstar informed her.

They started to swim through the river, and Crookedstar was very surprised when Moonpaw was keeping up with him, AND not even complaining about the water. "Say, I'm really surprised you don't mind swimming or getting your fur wet. How come you don't mind it like all the other cats outside of RiverClan?"

I don't know really, I just love being in water, like I was born there or something," she answered.

He saw he wasn't getting much further, so he didn't press the subject. He couldn't anyway, because they were already out of the river and at Sunningrocks.

Sunningrocks was a stony place, with stone covering the ground, and the sun warming the rocks, which actually felt comfortable to Moonpaw. However, something still prickled at her.

"Umm, Crookedstar? What did you mean when, Sunningrocks is RiverClan's currently?" she asked, wondering about what the leader meant.

He gave a hefty sigh before looking at her with much sadness in his eyes. "Sunningrocks is constantly fought over between RiverClan and ThunderClan. In fact, this place has a very bloody backstory, as many territory battles happened. Our old deputy, my brother, Oakheart died here on the same day we stumbled upon you and took you in our Clan."

"If you have to go through all of that trouble, why not just forget about it? I mean, all the suffering it's caused, can't you guys come to an agreement or something?" she questioned Crookedstar, who shook his head negative.

"Oh, Moonpaw, it is good that you think with your heart instead of your claws. Believe it or not, I used to think the same thing you did. However, you must learn quickly that everything here is a competition. There are no agreements, and even then, they are never permanent. As a leader of a Clan, I must put my Clan before my personal feelings to make sure we all survive. Remember Moonpaw, the Clan is always first, but never forget your personal feelings. Be a part of the Clan, don't become the Clan, because you may end up saying things you may not be able to keep," he told her with a heavy heart.

O-o-okay Crookedstar, I will always remember that," Moonpaw said with determination, taking his words to heart.

"Off of that depressing topic," he suddenly perked up, "I still have to show you the ThunderClan border." With that, he started to bound towards the border, with Moonpaw trying (and failing) to match his speed. When they got close, Crookedstar started to slow down, to allow a panting Moonpaw to catch up with him.

"Oh, my gosh, are you, really that fast, you, almost left me behind!" she told him panting, though it sounded like a complaint more than anger.

"Well too bad, you just have to wait until you get faster, I guess," he rebounded back at her, making her give him a playful glare. The moment however was ruined as they heard a loud voice, which seemed to be very close to the border they were just a few fox-lengths away from.

"Yuck, does RiverClan do nothing but bathe in fish!? They smell disgusting!" the voice yelled.

Moonpaw froze while Crookedstar just gave a small-irritated twitch of his tail. Who does this cat, clearly an apprentice by how he sounds, think he is? Nevertheless, Moonpaw got a sense of nostalgia and thought she knew who it was. "Could it be...?" she muttered quietly, so much that Crookedstar couldn't make out her words. He decided to play with this wayward apprentice though and put him in his place.

"Really, now what would you say if you were in front of the more violent RiverClan warriors? Believe me, they would not take that insult laying down, so you better thank StarClan I'm a rather peaceful cat," Crookedstar spoke as he started to reveal himself, and Moonpaw ended up following suit. As she came around the bush, she saw a gray kitten, an older golden cat with a mane, and a bracken-colored tom. Then she turned her eyes to the last cat, who looked right back at her. Blue met emerald, and they both instantly knew who the other was. They both had the same question for each other apparently…

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" they both exclaimed, much to the dismay of everyone else's ears.

"What do you mean ME?" Moonpaw yelled at "Rusty". "I was the one looking for you after YOU decided to be all gutsy and go into the forest! You didn't even wait to tell me, I was worried sick about you, Rusty!" Moonpaw told him, with tears forming in her eyes.

"Rusty" had seen that the damage had been done, so he tried to comfort her by pushing his pelt towards hers. "I am sorry I made you worry, Flower. It was just that I was so excited about joining ThunderClan that it just slipped my mind."

Moonpaw looked at "Rusty" for a moment, then shook the tears from her eyes. "Well, as long as you're okay, it's fine. By the way, you are not the only one who joined a Clan. Now I'm Moonpaw, apprentice of RiverClan."

"Rusty" gave her a very surprised look of his own, but it changed into a proud look of his own.

"Firepaw, apprentice of ThunderClan," he said, mimicking his sister's way.

"Hey, who's this?" the gray kitten asked Firepaw.

"Oh, yeah. Moonpaw, this is my friend Graypaw, and Graypaw, this is my older sister, Moonpaw. And these are two warriors, Lionheart is the golden one and Tigerclaw is the one brown one. Right now, they're helping us become warriors. Who's your mentor?" he asked Moonpaw.

"How about Crookedstar, the leader of RiverClan?" she said, shocking all of the ThunderClan patrol. Lionheart looked like he would say something, but was interrupted by Graypaw before he could speak.

"Wow! The RiverClan leader is your mentor? You are so lucky!" he exclaimed, quite envious of her at the moment.

"As I was about to say before I was rudely interrupted," Lionheart spoke while sending a chastising glance at Graypaw, who shrank back in embarrassment, "I did not expect you to take another apprentice."

Crookedstar gave a light chuckle at that statement. "Well, I guess I just saw something in her special, and I wanted her right away," he told them. "Besides, this aging cat could use an apprentice to keep him young."

Moonpaw gave him an exasperated glance, remembering the run they took only a few moments earlier. "Crookedstar, right now, you are anything BUT old," she sassed back at him.

Graypaw was shocked she would talk to her leader that way, but Firepaw quickly said something about her. "That's my sister alright. She will never hold her tongue, no matter who she's talking to or about. She will say what she sees no matter who or what is around her," he told them.

That was when Tigerclaw decided to speak up. "Well, we should be going now, right Crookedstar, we don't need to be gossiping around the whole day," he growled, but in a way that showed the proper respect when talking to a leader.

"You are quite right, Tigerclaw. I will see you at the Gathering tonight." He failed to notice the weird looks on the siblings' faces.

"What's a Gathering?" they both asked, making the warriors/leader inwardly moan about forgetting to tell them about it. Thankfully, Lionheart, the most patient of all three of them, decided to tell them.

"A Gathering is when all four Clans meet. Every full moon, the four Clans gather at Fourtrees, which we would be taking you next, and exchange news under a truce. There is one tonight, in fact. You all are too new, though, so you probably will not go," he answered their unspoken question, shutting the two up to the older cats' relief.

"Well, I believe we'll be going, now. See you both at the Gathering," Crookedstar told both of the warriors, before motioning Moonpaw that they are about to leave. Before she left with Crookedstar, she touched noses with Firepaw and said a quick goodbye, before taking off after Crookedstar in fear of being left again. They went back to the RiverClan camp, however the time was just a little bit after sunhigh. "I thought we would take a little longer, but oh well, that gives us more time for battle training."

Moonpaw instantly perked up at that. "Battle training, awesome!" she celebrated.

Crookedstar gave her a very… evil smile before telling her, "Don't be too excited, Moonpaw, I am a very tough teacher, and you will learn that soon enough little one," he said, poking at her small size yet again.

"Bring it on, I'm not afraid!" Moonpaw told him back with confidence.

…She would regret ever saying those words…

XXXXX

After battle training, which Moonpaw has named, "beating time", Crookedstar took his cats to the Gathering, and told her to get some much deserved rest. She immediately trudged back to the apprentices den, with every single step hurting, and plopped down right on her bed, much to the shock of Heavypaw and Lilypaw, who were also left behind for the Gathering. "Oh StarClan, Moonpaw what happened? It looked like someone threw you from Silverpelt and back!"

She just gave them an annoyed look. She just wanted to sleep. "Leave me alone… Wanna… sleep…zzz," she told them before falling asleep on the spot, leaving just Heavypaw and Lilypaw awake.

"…Wow, Crookedstar must have worked her into the ground," Heavypaw guessed, with Lilypaw nodding her head, not even having any words to describe her shock.

From now on, they never complained about their mentors ever again…

A/N: Hello viewers! I am so sorry I am late, so here is my apology! I hope you accept it and love it with gusto. Anyway, Review, Comment, and Fave! Right now, it is literally 10:50 p.m and just like Moonpaw, I wanna sleep!

Blizzard, Out! …zzzzzz

P.S: I updated some stuff at about 8 in the morning. Happy reading!

P.P.S: Moonpaw is older than Firepaw by about 3 and a half minutes.


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